Saturday 8th July 1916

Near Lozenge Wood, south of Contalmaison

During the day, there had been a further attempt by 1^st Worcesters to reach the southern edge of Contalmaison but this was again repelled and the general  position remained largely unchanged. The situation was described in a subsequent letter from Brig. Genl. Lambert to the Lord Mayor of Bradford: “Attacks by other troops went on. Parts of the village were entered more than once but it was still strongly held by the Germans, whose hidden machine guns were difficult to locate or deal with. The capture of the village was a necessity prior to the further operations of the Army. From 7^th July onwards one battalion had already been called into the line again to support other troops, and during all this time continued to suffer casualties and much discomfort”.

Pte. James Loxam (see 12^th April) suffered a self-inflicted wound. A report submitted ten days later would explain the circumstances, “Pte. Loxam was cleaning his rifle in the trenches near Fricourt on the morning of 8^th July. The rifle was caked in mud so that it could not be unloaded before the mud had been cleaned off the bolt action. While this was being done the rifle was fired and blew off the third finger of Pte. Loxam’s left hand. Pte. Loxam was holding his rifle in the left hand by the muzzle. The safety catch had already been reported to the platoon sergeant as being loose’. Pte. Loxam would be evacuated via one of the Casualty Clearing Stations at Heilly Station to 24^th General Hospital at Etaples where it would be confirmed that ‘third finger completely removed by bullet; second finger injured – lacerated’. He would be evacuated to England on 11^th July travelling onboard the Hospital Ship Stad Antwerpen; on arrival he would be admitted to 2^nd Western General Hospital in Manchester.

Pte. Loxam himself cited Ptes. Arthur Holt (see 12^th February) and Robert Husker (see 4^th April 1915) as witnesses who could corroborate his account. Having investigated the matter Lt. Col. Sidney Spencer Hayne, (see 23^rd June) determined that the incident occurred “Accidentally, ie no blame is attached to the man”.

The Battalion spent the day in the Lozenge Wood trenches until at 8pm they were ordered to dig new trenches in the area. During this process the men came under German shelling which killed one of Tunstill’s Men and wounded at least six others. Pte. Richard Davies Ellison (see 14^th September 1914) was the man killed; he was originally from Rawtenstall but had been working as a gardener at Bolton Hall, Bolton-by-Bowland, on the outbreak of war. He was buried at Becourt Military Cemetery, Becordel-Becourt, close to some of the casualties of the earlier fighting (see 6^th July).

The incident in which Ellison was killed was described by one of the injured men. Pte. Arnold Wakeling told his family, “Both sides were shelling like fury, and pieces flew and hit me just as I was going to sit down and have a little nap. We were right in the centre of the advance, in the hottest part of the line. Don’t trouble about me, I am a lucky fellow”. Wakeling had been wounded in the thigh and was evacuated back to England before being transferred to Bellahouston Hospital, Glasgow. Arnold Wakeling was one of eight children of John and Annie Wakeling. The family was originally from Bradford but had moved extensively with John working as a policemen. They had been settled for some years in Keighley, where Arnold worked as a “pattern maker” for an engineering company. He had enlisted in September 1914 (aged 22) and had been among the Keighley contingent posted to join Tunstill’s original recruits. His brother, Ernest, had also enlisted and had served at Gallipoli with 7DWR, during which he had been wounded. 

The condition of some of the other wounded men was more serious. Pte. Claude Smith Slater (see 5^th July), who just a few days earlier had written to the family of his pal Thomas Barwick, was gravely wounded; he was evacuated to the field ambulance unit based at Mericourt L’Abbe. Also among the wounded was L.Cpl. Charles Graham (see 11^th September 1914), his injury was so severe that he subsequently had his right foot amputated; he returned to England and was treated in hospital in Liverpool. L.Cpl. Matthew Best (see 27^th May); he suffered injuries to his left arm and leg, including partial paralysis of his arm, and was evacuated to 70^th Field Ambulance.

Pte. Claude Smith Slater

  

Pte. Thomas Martin Douglas; the details of his wounds are unknown but he would be evacuated to England and admitted to the Military Hospital in Lewisham. He had volunteered aged 21 in September 1914; he was one of ten children of Robert and Phoebe Douglas of Maryport, Cumberland. Thomas had been brought up in Maryport but by 1914 he was living at 26 Turkey Street, Keighley, from which address he enlisted. Pte. William Terry, D Company, suffered shrapnel wounds to his left eye; he would be admitted via 51^st Field Ambulance to 34^th Casualty Clearing Station at Vecquemont, east of Amiens. He had been 21 when he volunteered in September 1914; he was the eldest son of Arthur and Emily Terry (they had eight children in all) and had been working as a woolsorter before enlisting. Like Arnold Wakeling, he was subsequently transferred to the Northumberland Fusiliers and he ended the war as a Lance Corporal.

Also among the wounded was Pte. Harold Howlett (see 17^th June), who had only joined the Battalion three weeks previously; He suffered shrapnel wounds to his right thigh and would be evacuated via 51^st Field Ambulance and 38^th Casualty Clearing Station, to 2^nd General Hospital at Boulogne.

Also wounded was Sgt. William Henry Mears (see 6^th February 1915); he suffered wounds to his left shoulder and would be admitted to 34^th Casualty Clearing Station and from there to a hospital in France (details unknown). Cpl. John Knowles (see 15th August 1915) suffered shrapnel wounds to his left thigh; he was admitted to 34^th Casualty Clearing Station and from there to a hospital in France (details unknown) before being evacuated to England on 13^th July. Once in England he would be transferred to Bellahouston Hospital, Glasgow. . Pte. Francis Wilson Stockell (see 9^th July 1915) of ‘B’ Company suffered a wound to his right knee and would be evacuated to England three days later and admitted to the General Military Hospital in Colchester. Pte. John Russell, A Company, (see 6^th June) suffered shrapnel wounds to his left thigh and was also reported as shellshocked; he would be evacuated to 34^th Casualty Clearing Station at Vecquemont, east of Amiens. From there he would be taken, on 10^th July, by no.25 Ambulance Train to Boulogne and admitted to 1^st Convalescent Depot at Boulogne. On 13^th July he would be evacuated to England onboard the Hospital Ship Cambria.

2Lt. Harry Foster (see 10^th June) who was one of the Battalion’s original officers, was evacuated to England, suffering from shell-shock. Beyond these simple details, this officer has not yet been positively identified.

Five men would be admitted, suffering from shellshock, to 34^th Casualty Clearing Station at Vecquemont, east of Amiens. Ptes. Gilbert Bell (see below) and Robert Moody (see 26^th June) would then be taken, the following day, by no.22 Ambulance Train to 3^rd Canadian General Hospital in Boulogne. Gilbert Bell would be treated solely in France and would (date and details unknown) be posted to 2DWR. Robert Moody, on the other hand, would be evacuated to England on 11^th July, travelling onboard the Hospital Ship Aberdonian; on arrival in England he would be admitted to King George’s Hospital, Stamford Street, London. L.Cpl. Robinson Walker (see 29^th March 1915, when he had been promoted has not been established) and Ptes. Fred Ingham (see below) and Harold Jennison (see 21^st September 1915) would be taken, on 10^th July, by no.7 Ambulance Train to hospital (details unknown) in Boulogne. Pte. Andrew Green (see 18^th December 1915) would also be reported as shellshocked. The details of his treatment are unknown; he would subsequently (date and details unknown) be transferred to the Machine Gun Corps.

Gilbert Bell was one of eleven children of David and Annie Bell of Keighley. Gilbert had been born in 1898 and his father had died when Gilbert was only four years old. Gilbert had been working as a ‘doffer’ in a local worsted mill. Once deemed fit again for active service he would be posted to 2DWR. Fred Ingham was a 20 year-old worsted spinner from Denholme; he had originally served with 9DWR and had first been posted to France in July 1915. He had been wounded in December 1915 and had then been transferred (date and details unknown) to 10DWR. He would subsequently serve with 8DWR and 1^st/5^thDWR (details unknown). Harold Jennison would subsequently (date and details unknown) be transferred to the Northumberland Fusiliers.. 

Pte. Claude Smith Slater

L.Cpl. Matthew Best

Pte. Gilbert Bell

The father of Lt. Leonard Hammond (see 5^th July) received a telegram from the War Office, informing him that his son had been killed in action. However, the telegram erroneously referred to him as Lt. R. Hammond. Hammond’s father immediately sent a telegram in reply to the War Office asking them to clarify whether his son had indeed been killed.

Lt. Leonard Hammond